Tukwila is an independent model from Seattle. Yes, Tukwila is her real name (it means “land of hazelnuts” in the Coastal Salish First Nations’ language). I met her and her husband Leonard at Vancouver Fashion Week (VFW) in October 2013. Tukwila “walked” for several designers during the Spring/Summer show.

09:00pm Saturday – We met by coincidence at a coffee shop in downtown Vancouver. She was here to “walk” for several VFW Fall/Winter designers.
11:00pm Tukwila got approval from her designer to arrive at 1:30pm Sunday for hair & makeup.

10:15am Sunday – We meet downtown to shop for two outfits.
11:20am Our arms are filled with three outfits, several blouses and skirts.
11:30am Panic is starting to set in. Time is running short and we don’t have a killer outfit yet.
11:40am We agree to find one look instead of two (because she won’t have time to change).
11:45am Tukwila starts trying on 12 different pieces. Some fit, some don’t, some don’t look well together. Sigh…
11:50am We all like the skirt Leonard found. I found a blouse and two fitted blazers. Things look promising!
11:55am I found heels and purse. We now have a killer outfit.
11:57am Tukwila, Leonard and I liked the smart, classy, “Springy” look of the outfit.
12:00pm We raced out of the store for the nearest Starbucks so Tukwila could change.
12:05pm We start shooting.01:10pm We finish shooting and we say goodbye.

Tukwila is a modern day renaissance woman. In addition of being an independent model, she has a Bachelor’s of Fine Arts for dance, she leads a small dance troupe and she’s Owner of a green friendly cleaning company.

Several of these images were featured in the Community section of the Asian Pacific Post newspaper.